Alive Gang – Jesus Appears to His Disciples (29th March 2020)

Have you ever heard something from someone that you couldn’t believe was true? Perhaps a friend said they’d got a high score on a video game or met a famous person and you weren’t sure they were telling the truth. Which of the following statements do you think is true?

True or False?

Christmas is celebrated in Russia in April
The date of Easter Sunday changes every year
Adults have more bones in their skeleton than babies
They have square watermelons in Japan because they stack better
In Slovakia they have Christmas Carp (large fish) that live in the family bathtub for a few days before they are eaten

Answers at the end!

Sometimes we hear amazing things which we struggle to believe are true. We often search for proof of things we find hard to believe. After his death on the cross, even many of Jesus’ closest friends found it hard to believe his resurrection had really happened.

What Does The Bible Say?

It was the first day of the week. That evening Jesus’ followers were together. The doors were locked, because they were afraid of the Jews. Then Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. His followers were very happy when they saw the Lord. Then Jesus said again, “Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, I now send you.” After he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Thomas (called Didymus) was not with the followers when Jesus came. Thomas was 1 of the 12. The other followers told Thomas, “We saw the Lord.” But Thomas said, “I will not believe it until I see the nail marks in his hands. And I will not believe until I put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side.” A week later the followers were in the house again. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here in my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you see me. Those who believe without seeing me will be truly happy.” Jesus did many other miracles before his followers that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name.

John 20:19-31

Discuss

Like Thomas, we sometimes want to see things for ourselves to believe that they are true.

Game Idea

Find a selection of objects in your house. Place them on a table and hide them under a tea towel.

Get a family member to reach under and feel one of the objects without looking at it. Can they guess what it is? Were they right? Would they be more confident if they could see the object themselves?

Now get them to select some items for you to guess.

Not seeing objects makes it a lot harder for us to work out what they are. With experience, we can recognise familiar things even without seeing them but any unfamiliar objects will have been much harder to guess without visible proof. This is a bit like Thomas. He found it hard to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead because he knew he had died on the cross. This was something unfamiliar, amazing but hard to believe. The only evidence Thomas had was the other disciples’ word that Jesus was alive. He struggled to accept even what he close friends had said as he needed to see for himself. Like Thomas, we sometimes need to see and experience things to really believe them. Jesus offers us Himself to know Him and trust Him – not just because our parents do, or our friends do. He wants us to believe His miraculous power over death for ourselves.

Craft Idea

You may want to complete the Craft task ‘Believing Hands’ as a reminder that we can belive Jesus’ resurrection shows His power over death and His love for us all.

Prayer

My Lord and God, Thank You for raising Jesus from death to life. Thank You that Jesus loved his friends so much He showed them the proof of the miracle. Help us to stop doubting and believe, just as Thomas did.

Amen